Monthly Archives: October 2014

The supernatural and horror themed episodes for October comes to a close with this weeks short story. The Chain by H. Warner Munn. It first appeared in the April 1928 issue of Weird Tales.

This is a story firmly set in the horror genre, but without any real supernatural elements. It’s actually somewhat realistic and is a tale of torture (both mental and physical).. It deals with a man being trapped in his cousin’s castle, and the unique brand of tortures the cousin inflicts on him.

The supernatural theme continues this week with The Tale of Satampra Zeiros by Clark Ashton Smith. It first appeared in the November 1931 issue of Weird Tales. It’s the first published entry of Smith’s Hyperborean Cycle.

This week’s story is The Picture In the House by H.P. Lovecraft. According to Wikipedia the story was written on December 12, 1920. The story was first published in the July 1919 issue of The National Amateur, this issue was actually published in the Summer of 1921. This is one of Lovecraft’s earlier stories from his amateur press days.

The story is narrated by a genealogist who is conducting research on the Miskatonic Valley. He’s traveling by bicycle and takes refuge in an old house in the woods as a storm is brewing. He finds the house is inhabited and the owner is a unique individual. To put it mildly.

According to Wikipedia, this story includes the first mention of the Miskatonic Valley and Arkham. This puts the story within Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.

October is here, and Pulp Crazy begins its run of Weird Tales themed episodes in honor of Halloween. In this weeks episode I discuss The Loved Dead by C.M. Eddy. The short story is credited to C.M. Eddy, however H.P. Lovecraft revised it. The Loved Dead is legendary due to the public outcry in 1924 over a reference to necrophilia in the story, which is very tame by today’s standards.